


Spencer's Six

by myglassesaredirty



Category: Psych
Genre: Chief Henry Spencer, Criminal AU, Criminal Shawn, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Gen, Maybe an OC or two, Minor Original Character(s), Ocean's Eleven AU, Organized Crime, POV Henry Spencer, POV Shawn Spencer, SO, Theft, a hecka lot, don't even, hashtag i am such a responsible writer y'all, i ship it more than shules, i'm just gonna pick a minor detail and then i'm just gonna run with it, idk when i'm setting this, jules is still a junior detective, karen is the head detective, lassie's just a normal detective but still her partner, listen okay henry/maddie (maddy?) is my favorite thing ever, ridiculous nicknames, um. tag time, which is a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 16:32:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16643744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: Ten years ago, Shawn Spencer was arrested for stealing a car to impress a girl. Now, he's graduated from minor car theft to large-scale organized crime all over the country. He's returned to Santa Barbara to pull off a small jewelry heist that totals up to $1 million.The trouble? He's not counting on his father being the new chief of police.





	Spencer's Six

**Author's Note:**

> Guys. Guys. Badass Shawn is literally the hottest thing ever. I am so attracted to badass Shawn. So, naturally, this meant that I had to _write_ badass Shawn, and what better way to do that than with criminal Shawn?
> 
> I got this idea from watching 7x01. I messaged Dawn and said "y'know, Shawn would be a fucking terrifying criminal" and I was not wrong. From there, the idea just wouldn't leave me alone and I had to continue.

His steps are silent as he creeps forward. His eyes sweep the ceiling, immediately pinpointing the security cameras. WIthin seconds, he has figured out where exactly to step to avoid being detected by the security monitors.

 

The jewelry store has six diamond necklaces, selling for $50,000 each. Along with the diamond necklaces, there are two dozen other expensive bracelets and rings that ring up another $400k.

 

Before he breaks into the cases, he surveys the glass cases. Four of the cases are easily accessible, especially with the key ring he managed to acquire two weeks ago. There’s no alarm to go off in the case someone does try to steal them. When he zeroes in on the case holding the diamond necklaces, he notices a faint discoloration in the glass, and he murmurs a string of curses.

 

Shawn starts with the case closest to him and carefully pulls out his key ring. Glancing over his shoulder, he notices that he cannot reach any of the other cases without getting caught by the security cameras. He finds the correct key for the case full of brilliant diamond bracelets and shrugs off his knapsack. He carefully lifts the bracelets from their respective spots and sticks them into his knapsack. Shawn carefully fishes out his fake replicas and replaces the stolen bracelets with the replicas. After that’s done, he locks the case and carefully sneaks his way over to the other cases.

 

By the time he makes his way to the six diamond necklaces, he has acquired $400k worth of diamonds, and he’s itching for more. Though he blends in with the blackness surrounding him, he’s anxious about this steal. Shawn kneels and checks underneath the case, hoping that there’s a way he can turn off the alarm manually. When he finds nothing, he curses again and straightens.

 

Either he walks away with what he has, or he risks getting caught. Especially since his father will more than likely be the first officer at the scene. Shawn purses his lips and considers his options, sliding his hand into his pocket, where he fingers the penny he brought with him.

 

He pulls out his swiss army knife and carefully inserts the blade into the keyhole, jiggling the lock until it opens. He quickly pulls out the necklaces and stuffs them in his knapsack. The tiles beneath his feet light up, and he curses. He might not have time to replace the necklaces, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try. Shawn takes out his replicas, carefully arranges them where their authentic counterparts were, and leaves the penny in his pocket on top of the glass case before he bolts from the building.

 

The penny gleams with the light of the alarm system, and by the time the police arrive on scene, Shawn Spencer has long since disappeared.

 

*

 

Chief Henry Spencer is the last to arrive to the scene of the crime. His head detective, Karen Vick, has already taken a statement from the manager. Henry’s other two detectives, Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O’Hara, examine the crime scene for prints, but the criminal was clean. There are no traces of fingerprints.

 

“Chief!” Lassiter calls, standing behind the case filled with brilliant diamond necklaces. Or, rather – based on the way the manager is flipping out – Lassiter is standing behind the case filled with shiny replicas.

 

Henry weaves his way around the officers surrounding the scene and comes to stand by Lassiter. Carlton points to a small coin lying innocently on top of the glass case.

 

It’s a genuine 1931 bronze penny.

 

Henry growls lowly. They’re not going to get a print off of that penny. Henry knows  _ exactly _ who put it there, and he spent the majority of that kid’s life telling him how not to get caught. Regardless, he points to it and gruffly says, “Pick it up and run it for prints.”

 

Thing is, there is no way he can tie Shawn to the crime. There are no prints, no strands of hair, nothing except circumstantial evidence (if that) and Henry’s gut feeling that Shawn is behind all of this. In the unlikelihood that it was Jack, Henry still can’t tie him to the crime. The only two people in the  _ world _ who leave pennies like this are also the only two people who know exactly how not to get caught by the police.

 

Henry sighs, about to turn away, when he notices something strange about the lock for the diamond necklace case. On the gold-plated cover, there are no scratches or nicks, but at closer inspection, he notices that the lock has been forced open. He stands, pops his back, and points to O’Hara. “You,” he says to her, “call up a locksmith. See if he or she can figure anything out from this one.”

 

She nods and hurries to make the call.

 

Henry blows out a breath of hot air. It’s nice to know that Shawn is back in town.

 

*

 

The next day, the break-in is all over the news. A few people speculate who might have done it (the options range from these people’s acquaintances to the mayor to the Zodiac Killer), but no one has a good or logical guess. The police are all over the case, interviewing the local people that have been “accused.” At the end of the day, they’re no closer to solving the case than they were at the beginning. Henry’s close to telling the store owner that the case will go cold and to just get insurance to cover it, but he’s a police chief and he apparently can’t do that, according to the mayor.

 

When he clocks out of work, he drives to an old friend’s house. He rings the doorbell and waits for a beat until the door swings open and Burton Guster stares at him in mild shock.

 

“Mr. Spencer?” Gus says, stepping aside to let Henry in. “What are you doing here?”

 

Henry shakes his head and holds up his hand, standing on his tiptoes to peer over Gus’s shoulder. “Listen, Gus, I’m not gonna sugarcoat this: Shawn’s back in town, and I need to know if you’ve seen him or if you know where he is.”

 

Gus raises his eyebrows. “He is? He didn’t contact me.”

 

Henry huffs and gets off his tiptoes. His calves hurt from trying to find Shawn in Gus’s tiny apartment. “He’s only been in town for about a day, as far as I’m aware. He might not have found you yet.” Henry’s eyes zero in on a stack of postcards from various cities. The top postcard is from San Antonio. It’s the last postcard Shawn sent to him and Gus, apparently, and he sent it last week.

 

Henry growls lowly. “He knows where you are, Gus. I need to know where he is.”

 

Gus flounders like a fish out of water. His mouth falls open and closed, and finally, he tries to form a coherent thought. “I– why would you– of –  _ pshh! _ – of course I don’t know where Shawn is, why would I –”

 

A spike of brown hair comes bounding from one of the side halls, completely oblivious to the conversation going on between the homeowner and the visitor. “Gus!” Shawn shouts, holding a pineapple in his hand. “It’s time to make our famous pineapple pie!”

 

Henry clears his throat and looks to Shawn. “We have pineapple pizza at home, kid.”

 

Shawn freezes and carefully looks to his father. His eyes flicker with wariness, and his mind whirs, trying to decide which question to ask. He straightens his shoulders, takes a step back, and looks his father square in the eyes. “How’d you know I was in town?”

 

“Maybe it was the near-perfect crime you committed. You left that penny I sent you.”

 

Though Shawn mentally panics, his outward demeanor doesn’t indicate anything like that. “What do you mean?” he asks. “Since when am I a criminal?”

 

“Since you stole a car to impress a girl, but also the jewelry store that was robbed last night.”

 

“And you think I did it.” Shawn doesn’t ask, and he’s no longer wary; rather, he’s defensive. He puffs out his chest and holds the pineapple with both hands. “Gee, thanks, Dad, it’s nice to see you, too.”

 

Henry holds up a hand. “There’s absolutely  _ no evidence _ to tie you to the crime. I’m not gonna ask. Just as long as you don’t confess to me, I can’t arrest you.”

 

“But you  _ can _ take me in for questioning.”

 

“But I’m not  _ going _ to,” Henry presses. “There’s not enough evidence, and no one else suspects you. I’ve even  _ taught _ you how to commit the closest thing to a perfect crime. I bet you even have an alibi.”

 

“Dad –”

 

Henry jerks his head towards his truck. “C’mon, your mom wants to talk to you.”

 

Shawn gapes at him.  _ “She _ knows?!”

 

“She was in town for a conference, and instead of paying money for a hotel room, I offered to let her stay home.”

 

“And so you just  _ happened _ to buy pineapple pizza?”

 

“Your mom is enforcing a restriction on the red meat I consume, and I’ve ordered pineapple pizza for the better part of 18 years,  _ of course _ I’ll order it out of habit.”

 

Shawn hesitates. The offer of pineapple pizza is tantalizing, but he knows his father wouldn’t even  _ dream _ of becoming a dirty cop. Not even for his own son. Henry could be telling God’s honest truth, or he could be getting ready to take Shawn down to the station.

 

Henry sighs and runs his hand over his scalp. “If it would make you more comfortable, you can drive there on your motorcycle. I haven’t moved.”

 

Shawn purses his lips and considers this new information. On one hand, there’s pineapple pizza that’s already paid for and his mom. On the other, there’s his father who kicked his mom out of the house (and is now welcoming her back, which doesn’t make any sense) and who will probably try and get a confession out of Shawn. Pineapple pizza…confession. Mom…Dad. Shawn twists his lips, passes the pineapple to Gus, and grabs his helmet. “Alright, Dad,” Shawn says, emphasizing his words by jabbing his helmet at Henry, “you’ve got a deal. But I will lead the way. Is that clear?”

 

Henry nods, holding up both hands in surrender. “Agreed, kid.” He steps aside, allowing Shawn to walk out into the hall and lead the way to the elevators. He shakes Gus’s hand. “Thanks, Gus. I hope we have less of these encounters.”

 

“Me, too, Mr. Spencer.” Gus waves goodbye to Henry and Shawn and then closes the door.

 

In the elevator, Henry and Shawn are mostly silent, though neither of them have pressed the button for the first floor. Before either one of them does, Shawn speaks up. “Don’t you dare send an innocent person to jail.” It’s not an admission, but his tone betrays his guilt.

 

Henry nods once. “Trust me,” he says, “I won’t let  _ any _ of my officers arrest an innocent person for your crimes.”

 

“And if they do arrest an innocent person, and if that person is put on trial, then you better do your damndest to make sure that person gets off.”

 

Henry chuckles humorlessly. “And how will I explain why I’m so insistent?”

 

“Tell them you have a gut feeling and that you’re a cranky old man.”

 

Henry squeezes Shawn’s shoulder. “I guess that’s fair, kid. I guess that’s fair.”

 

With that, Shawn leans forward and presses the button for the first floor.

 

*

 

While Henry sits in front of the tv, watching the football game, Shawn plows through his half of the pineapple pizza. His mom and dad both gave up after two slices each. Shawn dodges the uber personal questions his mom insists on asking (namely:  _ “Shawn, you’re so handsome. Do you have a girlfriend?” _ or  _ “You and your father seem to be tense with each other. What happened between you two?” _ or Shawn’s personal favorite:  _ “So, what are you doing as a living now? Your father told me about how you kept jumping around from city to city. What are you doing back in Santa Barbara?”). _

 

What’s he supposed to tell her?  _ “Thanks, Mom, I know I’m handsome. Muchas gracias. I haven’t had a girlfriend since high school, but I have had about thirty one-night stands in the past ten years. Yeah, Dad and I are tense because he kicked you out of the house and never once tried to save your marriage. After I was left with him, I was PO’d so I stole a car and now we’re mortal enemies. My living? Oh, I’m a major criminal who’s worth over $6.5 million with all the cash I’ve stolen. I came back to Santa Barbara to make a major heist but hell, now I might have to stay.” _

 

No. He most certainly will not go into any of that. He stuffs another slice of pizza into his mouth and makes small talk with his mom, knowing good and well that she’s trying to find an opening to get past the facade that has been Shawn for the past 12 years.

 

Maddy sighs and squeezes Shawn’s wrist. “Your father loves you, you know.”

 

Shawn chokes on his pizza. Henry Spencer actually  _ loves _ someone? Is that even physically possible? Through his coughing spasms, Shawn manages to choke out, “You know, Mom, I  _ didn’t _ know that.” He sucks in a small breath. Someone roughly shoves a glass of water into his hand, and Shawn knows just by the callouses that it’s his father. Even though he’s 80% sure the water is poisoned, Shawn tips his head back and drinks. His coughing fit dies down, and when he looks around, he notices that his dad went back to sit on the couch. Shawn rolls his eyes and gestures to Henry with his glass. “See? He does just enough so that he doesn’t feel bad if I die, but then he’s not concerned at all.”

 

Maddy shakes her head slowly. “That’s not it, Shawn.” She leans forward, her hand still on Shawn’s wrist. “He told me about your falling out. He arrested you because –”

 

“Because he wanted to teach me a lesson and his job is more important to him than his own son,” Shawn finished for her.

 

_ “No,” _ Maddy emphasizes. “That’s not it. I mean, yes, he did hope that having a criminal record would prevent you from commiting more crimes in the future and so he did teach you a lesson, but…” She licks her lips. “He was willing to move with me to my new job. He wanted us to work. He would have given up everything he had back here, just so long as we were still a family.”

 

All of this information is new to Shawn. He tilts his head, furrows his brow, and leans forward. “What?” he asks, trying to make it sound accusatory but failing. His voice just sounds small and weak.  _ Perfect, _ he thinks sarcastically.  _ Just what a wanted criminal should sound like. _

 

Maddy narrows her eyes and examines Shawn. “He never told you, did he? I got a job offer, and it was an amazing opportunity. I had to take it. Your father desperately wanted us to make it. He wanted to keep going to marriage counseling, but I didn’t want to miss that job opportunity. He even suggested you and him moving with me, but I thought it would be unfair to take you away from Gus. That’s why we separated. It was never anything your father did.”

 

Shawn tries to process this information. “If that job opportunity had never come along,” Shawn says slowly, “then what would have happened?”

 

Maddy moves her hand and squeezes Shawn’s hand. “We would have kept going to marriage counseling.” She smiles, and her smile is watery. “I like to think we would have made it.”

 

Shawn licks his lips and closes his eyes. “You would have made it,” he whispers. He doesn’t say the other thing that he wishes that job opportunity had never come along, that he selfishly wishes that she would have stayed or turned it down, that he wishes with all of his heart that it had never happened.  _ If you hadn’t taken that job, _ he thinks,  _ I would never have become a criminal. _

 

Shawn clears his throat. “So, uh…that’s why you’re staying here?”

 

Maddy pulls her hand away and carefully takes another slice of pineapple pizza. “Of course.” She winks at him. “Or I could stay with you.”

 

“No!” Shawn says hastily. Henry looks away from his football game and shoots Shawn a warning glance. “No,” Shawn says again, more gently this time. “I, uh…I’m staying with Gus and you know how Gus is. You know, very cheap.” He gestures ambiguously with his hand. “Cheap– thin…walls and all. He still cries at night. I’m the only one that can comfort him.”

 

Maddy rolls her eyes fondly. “Alright. Are you going to stay in Santa Barbara now?”

 

Shawn looks back to Henry. Henry quirks an eyebrow, daring Shawn to answer the question. Shawn smirks, turns back to his mother, and says, “Yeah, Mom. You wanna help me choose an apartment?”

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr @ my-glasses-are-dirty and talk to me there!


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